Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – now make up more than a quarter of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Now that the oldest members are entering the workforce in droves, employers have been compelled to make adjustments in recent years to how they onboard and communicate with Gen Z hires.

Then the pandemic hit, and employers scrambled to figure out how to welcome and train new hires from a distance. While Gen Z is tech-savvy (meaning Teams, Zoom and Slack pose little usability obstacles), they’ve been missing out on important team-building that takes place in a communal office space.

In this episode of the Promo Insiders podcast, Sara Lavenduski, executive editor of digital content for ASI Media, speaks with Kelly Densberger, customer experience lead at Doing Good Works (asi/222095) in Irvine, CA, and Josh Hinkel, an inside sales rep for the Central region of the U.S. at Top 40 supplier Vantage Apparel (asi/93390) in Avenel, NJ. They discuss finding sales jobs in promo during the pandemic, the onboarding process while working from home and looking forward to the communal office experience.

“The most exciting part [of the office] is getting that social, face-to-face interaction. You get to say so much more to people.” – Kelly Densberger, Doing Good Works

Podcast Chapters (Available only on desktop)
1:00: Job searching during COVID
3:05 Onboarding during remote work
6:04 Staying in contact with the team
9:03 Feelings about “RTO”
12:20 What to know about onboarding and communicating with Gen Z
14:20 Working for a company with purpose
16:05 How do you communicate with brands on social media?
19:45 Career plans in promo

After several months of formal onboarding at both Doing Good Works and Vantage Apparel which involved trainings, shadowing and mock presentations, Densberger and Hinkel are now settled into their new roles. Still, Hinkel says communicating with his team involves weekly and even daily conversations over videoconferencing which has become imperative during remote work. “The weekly meetings with [my manager] are really important for me,” he says. “Every single day I’m in contact with people all over Vantage with ideas or questions.”

With a return to the office coming eventually, Densberger says that, while she’s more productive at home, she looks forward to meeting her coworkers in person. “The most exciting part is getting that social face-to-face interaction,” she says. “You get to say so much more when you walk by someone and ask them how they are, what’s going on in their personal life.”

“We’re looking to grow the inside sales team, which will allow me to put my leadership skills to good use.” – Josh Hinkel, Vantage Apparel

Now that events are gradually coming back, Densberger, who studied event planning in college, is excited to bring her recently honed kitting skills to good use for in-person gatherings. “It has all those aspects of getting hands-on [with events],” she says. “I try to think of items people will care about and not just use for a day, but keep on their desk and use all the time.”

Moving forward, both Densberger and Hinkel are forming ways to advance up the ranks in their respective companies, especially now as traditional promo sales continue to recover. “As we’re getting more traffic coming through as more businesses open back up, I want to continue to push into leadership roles,” says Hinkel, who has a retail management background. “We’re looking to grow the inside sales team, which will allow me to put my leadership skills to good use.”

Watch on YouTube